Inferno

He glanced at Julian, his eyes narrowing slightly as he studied him. Julian remained impassive; his face a mask of indifference, but Devon could sense the underlying tension and pain running through him. Julian was trying to be stoic, but it was obvious that whatever had happened with them, Julian had also been changed by it.



Cassie’s fingers stroked lightly over his cheeks, drawing his attention back to her. She smiled at him so beautifully that he forgot all about the strange scent clinging to her, and his worry over Julian. All he could think about now was her, and how wonderful it was to have her again, to hold her again. All he could do was hope that he could ease whatever torment she had been through, and that she could forgive him for losing her in the first place.



“We should probably get off the street,” she said softly.



He couldn’t help but grin at her as he pulled her close, kissing her nose gently. “Yes.”



He wrapped his arms around her before stooping to pick her swiftly up. She didn’t make a sound as she entwined her arms around his neck, snuggling closer. Her breath was warm against his skin, her body fit perfectly against his as she buried her face against him.



Devon turned back to the group standing outside the SUV, watching silently. Melissa was crying softly, Luther’s arm was wrapped tightly around her. Liam and Annabelle were standing with their arms around each other. Chris had moved slightly forward, his mouth parted in surprise, a questioning look was on his face. Devon studied Chris for a moment, not liking the confusion that filled his face. It brought his doubts and fears about Cassie sharply back to the forefront.



Cassie lifted her head from his shoulder, blinking tiredly. He could feel the utter exhaustion that radiated from her. “You are coming with us,” she said softly, her gaze not focused upon him, but on Julian.



Devon tensed, his hands tightened upon her. “Cassie,” he hissed.



She looked up at him, her eyes dark and worried. “He’s coming with us Devon,” she said forcefully. “He is my friend and I will not leave him here.”



Devon couldn’t stop the fierce bolt of jealousy and confusion that ripped through him. What the hell were they doing together, and just what the hell had happened between them, and to them, for her to want Julian to stay with her? “I’m coming,” Julian replied firmly.



Devon glanced sharply at him, his nostrils flared as fury boiled through him. Cassie may think that they were “friends” but it was more than apparent from the look in Julian’s eyes that he thought more, or at least wanted more. Devon shifted her slightly, wanting to get her away from the want and need in Julian’s eyes. Then Julian looked up at him, and though he sensed envy in him, Devon didn’t sense any malice. Not like there used to be.



“And her?” Devon growled, nodding at Dani.



Cassie moved to look around him, her body stiffened in anger and distrust. Julian turned toward Dani, his eyes narrowed as animosity blazed forth. “She’s coming too, we need answers,” Julian snarled bitterly.



Dani looked worriedly at all of them, fear evident in her gold streaked hazel eyes. Then she looked toward the woods and took a step closer to Julian. “I’m coming with you,” she said softly.



“You didn’t have a choice,” Julian assured her, his voice as cold as ice.



“Be nice,” Cassie said softly. “She did get us out of there.”



“She also helped to put us in there.”



Cassie bit on her bottom lip as she nodded slowly. “Can we go please?”



“Anything you desire,” Devon assured her, striding past the two of them. He just wanted to get her the hell out of there, and somewhere safe. He wanted answers, and he never wanted to let her out of his arms again. He strode swiftly toward the rest of the group, not bothering to look back at Julian and Dani.



CHAPTER 2



Cassie clung tight to Devon, refusing to release him as she sat cradled within his lap. She was exhausted but she was afraid to go to sleep. She was petrified that this would all turn out to be a dream, and that she would awaken in that cramped cell again. She shifted on Devon’s lap, her hand curled tighter into his shirt as she pressed against him, trying to assure herself that this was real, that he was real.



His chest was solid beneath her hand, slightly cooler under his shirt. His hard muscles rippled against her as he shifted, his hand entangled in her hair, holding her close. But she still could not bring herself to believe that it was real. She glanced up at the hard contour of his jaw, noting the dark bristles that lined it. He had always been clean shaven, but it was obvious that he was wearing a few days worth of growth now.



He was just as magnificent as she remembered though. Just as hard and handsome and wonderful. He was her entire world, her everything. His presence filled the hole that had been ever present since she had been ripped away from him and placed in that horrendous cell. He made her complete. He was everything good and right and just in her.



He looked down at her, his beautiful emerald eyes warming with love as he shifted her slightly, pulling her tighter against him to drop a gentle kiss on top of her forehead. Cassie cuddled up closer to him, meeting his lips for a brief, sweet kiss that she wished was so much more. She wanted out of this cramped vehicle, and she desperately wanted some time alone with him.



Not that she wasn’t grateful to see her friends also, because she was, especially Chris and Annabelle, as she’d feared that they were dead. Feared that Dani had done something awful to them, but they were here before her, alive and healthy. Tears filled her eyes as she stared at the back of Chris’s blond head. He had always been her best friend, her rock, her anchor in the world, but it was Devon that she needed now, and in a way that she never had before. She had been kidnapped, tortured, brutalized and changed in ways she didn’t even know. She needed his goodness and caring and unconditional love more than anything right now. She trailed a finger under his jaw, relishing in the very real feel of his coarse hair against her skin. Loving the way his black hair fell across his magnificent face, loving the way it outlined the gorgeous contours of his refined features.



Reluctantly she turned her attention away from him as the SUV made a right hand turn onto a strangely deserted street. Her eyebrows drew together as she frowned in confusion. Though it was still dark out, the sun would be coming up soon. There should be at least a few people moving around. Some lights should be on in the windows as people brewed their morning coffee, showered, and dressed for work.



Her frown deepened as she sat slowly up. Devon’s hands tightened briefly on her but when she made no move to pull away he relaxed. “What is going on around here?” she asked quietly as they drove down another deserted street.



“We don’t know,” Chris answered, his sapphire gaze worried and questioning as he turned toward her. Cassie frowned at him. He had been staring at her strangely ever since she had gotten into the vehicle. He had hugged her, had even shed a few tears, but he had not stopped looking at her as if he didn’t understand her, or even know who she was.



“Where are we going?”



“The General store,” Melissa answered a small quiver in her voice.



Cassie frowned as she bit hard on her bottom lip. “We’re staying here? We’re staying in this town?” she demanded, unable to keep the tremble of panic from her voice.



“It will be ok,” Devon said gently, rubbing her arms as he tried to soothe her.



She turned back to him, her heart hammering in fear. “No, those people are here! Those people and those things are in this town! We can’t stay here! They’ll take us back there if they find us! We can’t go back in there!”



She was nearly shrieking by the time she was done, and shaking so fiercely that her teeth were chattering together. “Cassie…”



“No!” she screamed. Clawing terror seized hold of her. A sense of impending doom settled over her, her chest constricted so tightly that she could hardly breathe. She was gasping, choking, as she tried to get air into her tortured lungs.



Devon kept hold of her as she tried to get away; she needed to be free of the vehicle and the pressing weight on her chest. Julian leaned over him, grasping hold of her chin and pulling her head forcefully toward him. “Enough princess!” he snapped as Devon released a ferocious growl that caused the hair on the back of her neck to stand on end.



“Get your hand off of her!” Devon spat.



Julian chose to ignore him as he continued to hold onto her. “We are not going back there. I promise you that much, we are never going back in there. They will never touch you again. You need to keep yourself under control because we have got to learn what is going on here. We need to know what they were trying to do to us down there, and what they have done to this town.”



Cassie bit her lip hard, fighting back the wave of tears that filled her eyes. “Or what they did do to us,” she whispered, thinking of her red eyes and the strange control she’d had over herself earlier. Thinking of the shots they had injected her with that had turned her veins a different color as it seeped through her blood stream.



“Yes.” Cassie sat silently for a moment, trying to breathe through the pressure that lingered in her chest. Julian’s full mouth twisted into a small smile. “You survived down there, you will survive this.”



Cassie nodded, a single tear slid down her face as she set her shoulders in resolve. “You’re right,” she whispered. “We need to know. And don’t call me princess!”



He grinned at her, squeezing her chin briefly before retreating to the far back of the vehicle. Everyone stared at her in stunned silence, and then their gazes darted briefly toward Julian. She could sense their confusion and uncertainty, sense the questions rolling through them, but no one said a word. She turned slowly toward Devon, hating the stunned, wounded look in his eyes. She squeezed his hand tightly, looking to reassure him and ease his fears, but she wasn’t sure she succeeded.



Devon was her heart, but he was going to have to accept the fact that Julian had become her friend, and her savior, in a time when she had desperately needed both. He would have to accept the fact that she and Julian had forged a strong bond while they had been held captive, and that Julian owned a piece of her heart now. A piece that still confused her, and one that she didn’t understand. Julian was more than her friend, she cared for him deeply. Their bond had become so strong that she thought of Julian as good of a friend as Chris and Melissa, and she needed him in her life as much as she needed them.



Though, she didn’t want Devon to know right now about the fact that Julian had kissed her. He would destroy Julian if he learned that, and she could not allow that to happen. Especially since it had been her fault for allowing the kiss to happen. At the time she had been confused about her feelings toward Julian. She knew that Devon possessed her heart and soul, but Julian had become a big part of her life, and she loved him. But she could never love him like she loved Devon, and although she had doubted that, Julian never had. He had simply needed to kiss her, simply wanted the moment for himself.



She thought back to Julian’s words after he had kissed her. “I know princess, I know. I just needed this.”



At the time she hadn’t known what he meant by that. Had not understood what he had known, but she understood now. Though she had been lost and confused, Julian had known that she would always choose Devon over him. Julian had understood that though she did love him, it was always Devon that she belonged with, and to. And although it had happened once, both she and Julian knew that it would never happen again.



Tears clogged her throat, she clung tighter to Devon. It was not a secret that she would always keep from him, and one day she would tell him, but she couldn’t do so now. Now she needed Devon to trust Julian as much as she did. She couldn’t lose Julian now, she had grown to trust him and love him, and she needed him to help get her through all of this. She would always need him she realized.



She had never kept anything from Devon, but this was a secret she would have to keep for a little while. At least until Devon realized that Julian was different. That Julian was no longer their enemy, nor was he the same murderous monster that had once been Devon’s best friend, and had once helped Devon slaughter numerous innocents. No, this Julian was evolving, becoming someone different, becoming someone good, and trustworthy. He was learning to care for someone other than himself; he was becoming more human again and less of a monster. He had become someone that she loved and who loved her in return. He would do anything to keep her safe, and she would also do the same for him.



Even if the person she had to keep him safe from was Devon.



Cassie squeezed Devon’s hand again, seeking reassurance as she leaned her head against his chest to savor in the scent of him. His hand entangled in her hair, crushing her to him with a desperation that left her breathless, and on the verge of tears. She ached for the loss and confusion and terror that he had gone through. Ached for the turmoil and confusion she sensed boiling through him. He bent his head to her, his lips pressed gently against her forehead, her cheek, before finally resting against her neck.